SHILLONG: The Meghalaya government is all set to do away with publishing separate merit lists for tribal and non-tribal students while declaring the results of the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination.

State education minister R C Laloo on Tuesday told a teachers' delegation that the state government has agreed to the proposal to have only one merit list for the SSLC examination. "SSLC was the only exam whose results were so far published on the basis of tribal and non-tribal categories. But this practice will no longer continue," said RS Marbaniang, vice-president of the Khasi-Jaintia Deficit School Teachers' Association, in a news conference on Tuesday.

A delegation of the association met education minister R C Laloo over various issues relating to the education system of Meghalaya. The teachers' body also urged the traffic department to ensure smooth flow of vehicles during the forthcoming school final examinations scheduled from March 5. "Students, especially from the outskirts of the city, face a lot of problems in reaching their destinations during exams due to traffic jams in the city. This actually makes them nervous," Nongsiang said, adding that the association met the East Khasi Hills SP to discuss the matter.

"The SP agreed to make special traffic arrangements on examination days and also set up control rooms and have recovery vehicles on standby in case of breakdown of vehicles ferrying students. We have also urged the various school authorities to be lenient with students who cannot make it to the examination hall on time due to traffic jams . However, we also request parents to leave home with their wards early," he said.

Nongsiang also informed that the government has agreed to release 30% of the arrears due to the deficit school teachers in the state. He said Meghalaya was the only state to still have the deficit system of schools in the country. "We demand that this system be replaced by provincialization of the services of teachers, like in Assam," he added.